Improved chafing-iron for wagons



E'. P. ROCHE. Wagon Fender.

No. 95.381. l lPalte'nfed Sept 28, 1869.

@anni getal-13e @at-w1- Gettin.

EDWARD P. ROCHE, OF BATH., MAINE, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO E. A. POTTER, OFSAME PLACE;

Letters .Patent No. 95,381, dated September 28, 1869.

:Menoven CHA'FINGJRON ron wAGoNs.

The Schedule referred to in' thes'le Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all to whom these presents shall come Be it known that I, E. P. ROCHE, of Bath, in the county of Sagadahoc, and Stateof Maine, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Ohafing- `Irons for Oarriages; and do herebydecla're `the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, due reference being had to the accompanying injury by the tires of the wheel. Y

The original plan adopted was to apply a stationary or immovable bar of iron to the carriage-body, against which the periphery of the wheel abraded;' butin practice it was found that the wheel, in many instances, would run under the iron bar, and raise or overturn the carriage.

To overcome this difficulty, a roller, mounted upon a shaft, supported in suitable bearings, has latterly been adopted, and it is to this particular ,class of rublirons that myfpresent .invention has especial reference.

Previous to the introduction of my invention, the rub-iron has been placed with its general length parallel, or thereabbutsgtothe sides of the carriage-body.

As the tire of the wheel .impinges against the-iron, under these circumstances, at lan angle, lwhether a fixed iron or a roller is adopted, the periphery of the wheel slides upon the iron, and is forced backward to such an extent as to`p1foduce,iin many instances, dishing of the wheel, and, in some instances', its ruin; consequently, great caution must be exercised in turning a carriage in a small circle, for the oblique pressure lupon the roll has the effect not only of straining the spokes, but of `producing ysuch a powerful endwise thrust uponthe roll, as well as upon its axis, as to entirely prevent its rotation.'

The invention hereindescribed is intended to obviate these existing faults, in asimple manner, which it accomplishes by placing the-rub-iron, whether a bar or roller, at an angle to the body of the carriage, and at right angles to the plane of the wheel, at its point of incidence with the iron.

In the drawings, to which allusion has before been made as accompanyingthis specification, and which illustrate my invention, a represents a bent metallic bar, for receiving and supporting the roll, 'which is shown at b as turning 'a pin or rod c, extended through it loosely, and confined within the bar a in a suitable manner, such bar, -in practice, being affixed to the `carriage-body in such manner that the axis of the roll and the plane of the wheel, when in contact, shall be at right angles to each other.

I have found, in careful practice, that with .the rubiron disposed at right angles to the plane of the wheel,

in case of turning the vehicle in a small space, both the rear wheels are raised off the ground, and, to some extent, moved with the rear of the carriage-body over it, thus enabling the carriage to turn in a circle of much less radius than at present, and, owing to absenceiof danger from overturning, in much less time.

es the roll is free to revolve upon its axis at all times, and as -it is to be made preferably of chilled iron, wear upon the-parts ensues very slowly.

It may be found', in some classes of vehicles, impossible toplace the roll directly at right angles to the plane ,of the impinging-wheel, but only approximately thereto.

Under such circumstances, I have devised a duplicate protection`against friction upon the end of the roll next the rear of the carriage, at which point, if any, it will occur.

One of such devices consists in disposing between the end of the roll and the adjacent face of the bar a, one or more spherical anti-friction balls, as shown at l (I, in the drawings.

rlhe second device, shown in Figure 3 of the drawings, consists in the adoption of a spring', f, of vau elastic material, coiled wire, or other suitable form or material, disposed within a recess, g, made in the end of the roll, and with its opposite end pressing against a washer or collar, u, interposed between the end of the roll and the bar a, the outerface of the saidwasherv being convex.

The disposition of the roll, as before mentioned, that is, at right angles to4 the :plane of revolution of the wheel, is productive of several advantages: It removes friction and 'wear to a great extent from the parts.I It permits a vehicle to be turned in a much less time, and in almost absolute safety.

I would state that practice has demonstrated that the rapid Arevolution of the roll has the effect of throwing off, by centrifugal force, any dirt which would otherwise adhere to it and find its way to the arbor upon which'it revolves.

I wouldalso remark that I have contemplated en larging the central part of the bore of the roller, and.

combined with the anti-frictionballs ald,- the springl f, andthe bar a, as and for thfe purposes herein de scribed.

EDWD.- P. ROCHE.

Witnesses:

JoHN S. BAKER, ALBEN M. POTTER, 

